Overall, I wish the writing were stronger, with more balanced levels of emotion throughout rather than the bland, emotionless text with the occasional overreaction.Īs for Simulacra 2’s characters, I found them to be mediocre at best. Unfortunately, these conversations can also go in the opposite direction, with over exaggeration and painfully predictable reactions. I will say the conversations and arguments with the three suspects are the standouts, as some of the fear, doubt, and suspicion they have for each other is palpable and may lead you to a wrong conclusion should you be swayed. His conversations boil down to clichés and uninspired hints at what to do or where to look next. The writing for Detective Murilo is an especially egregious example, as his entire script is dry and predictable. The conversations, too, are mostly stiff with hardly any emotion. This is mainly due to the writing quality, as I found it to be often bland and listless, only serving to move the plot along. For one, the game can severely drag and test one’s attention. These tones definitely helped in driving my desire to find out what happened to Maya and how the mystery is finally resolved.ĭespite the intrigue of the overall story, the narrative and delivery aren’t perfect. I also appreciate the overall tones the narrative manages to create, instilling perceptible feelings of mystery, urgency, and fright. I appreciate the similarities here to real investigations and research, as staying away from biases and not jumping to conclusions will allow you to uncover the truth and achieve the real ending. Depending on how much evidence is collected, how you interpret and use that evidence, and how you interact with the suspects, players may end up drawing conclusions prematurely or even make false accusations, leading to one of these false endings. The story of Simulacra 2 is fairly amusing, one which possesses plenty of twists and miscues that will not only keep players guessing, but may lead them to several different endings. It’s through the cellphone that players search for digital clues, recover, decrypt, and analyze crucial evidence, interrogate Maya’s closest colleagues, and decipher the cryptic trail that leads the players’ decent into the paranormal. Going behind his superiors’ backs, he recruits the player to dig deeper into what he suspects is foul play and hands over the most critical piece of evidence, Maya’s cellphone. This victim, named Maya Crane, is reported dead by heart attack, yet Detective Murilo, your contact within the police bureau, speculates far more is afoot than what is initially concluded. In Simulacra 2, players take on the role of either a rookie detective or a tabloid writer tasked to investigate a prematurely closed case involving the demise of a social media influencer.
After the success of Simulacra, the series continues as players are once again tasked to unravel the truth behind a murder mystery full of distrust, misdirection, and the paranormal. Simulacra 2 is the newest addition in the budding mystery horror franchise by Kaigan Games.